Southfield: Walking and Architectural History

Southfield combines walking routes with local architectural and cultural history. The fifth section of the Pendle Way passes Catlow Quarry and Southfield Methodist Chapel before reaching Walverden Reservoir. Historic farmsteads, a barn converted into a chapel and a protected woodland add to this picture of the area. When choosing where to stay, you can weigh up whether you want to focus mainly on the route or on the individual historic buildings.

Walking the Pendle Way

The Pendle Way is a 45-mile circular walking route divided into eight sections. After passing a farm near Catlow and a Second World War bunker, the fifth section turns left into Catlow Quarry. It then passes Southfield Methodist Chapel, follows an avenue of lime trees and takes a path with two cattle grids to Walverden Reservoir.

These landmarks identify the fifth section within the longer circular route: Catlow Quarry is part of its described sequence, and the reservoir is its endpoint. This distinguishes the full 45-mile route from the specific landmarks on this stage. The route passes a chapel and runs through an avenue of lime trees; the area's historic buildings offer a separate focus for anyone interested in architecture and local history.

Buildings and Historic Traces

Southfield Methodist Church is housed in an 18th-century barn. The building has rubble-stone walls, a slate roof and a central segmental-arched entrance. The keystone bears the inscription “W&E/Sagan/1797”. Around 1800, the right-hand part of the barn was converted into a Methodist chapel. A plaque on the barn states that J Wesley preached there on 18 April 1786. The inscription at the entrance and the information on the plaque therefore refer to two different dates and historical connections.

Catlow House is a Grade II listed stone house dating from the 18th century. It is two storeys high and symmetrically designed. Its features include a slate roof with stone copings and kneelers, as well as a door with a moulded stone surround. Southfield Cottages 4, 5, 6 and 7 on Southfield Lane are also Grade II listed buildings.

Catlow Hall Farm is part of an early farmhouse with a central façade and gable, along with a later wing on the west side dating from the 18th or 19th century. The historic significance of Catlow Hall Farm also lies in its construction from local stone and stone flags. Catlow Farmhouse and Catlow Hall Farm include a house probably dating to 1666, with a remodelled core from around 1600.

Landscape, Stone and Archaeology

The woodland along Catlow Brook is protected by Tree Preservation Order No. 7 of 1984. Catlow Quarry supplied a large proportion of the local stone used in the Nelson area.

A cup-and-ring mark is located in a wall beside Southfield Lane, above Marsden Park Golf Course and the town of Nelson in Lancashire. It adds an archaeological trace to the area's architectural history within the wider geographical context. Together, the walking section, listed buildings and landscape features mentioned here offer different ways to explore Southfield according to your own interests.

Discover more destinations: Whitworth, Appley Bridge, Newchurch, Ormskirk, Accrington, Poulton Le Fylde, Wrea Green, Foulridge

For the main travel overview: Lancashire.